Project Genesis:
Operation Final Justice
Author's note: This is a short story set between Part one: Dawn and Part two: Sun. And is a semi novelization of the Command and Conquer Generals games, set in the Tiberium universe.
As such there will be some major changes, such as the USA will now be GDI, and the GLA will be the Brotherhood of Nod.
This is intended as a short story only, and serves as a bridge for the thirty year gap in between Tiberian Dawn and Tiberian Sun. This will follow characters from Part one, and should be required to read before starting this, it will also include new characters.
The China campaign will not be represented in this story, and there will only be a couple missions from Zero hour, so I'm sorry if you were hoping to see their POV. They wont be totally forgotten though so not to worry.
Big thanks to Augustrad for helping review and edit. Be sure to check out his works.
As always, I hope you all enjoy, and be sure to leave reviews!
Prologue
Beijing, China
June 12th 15:00
2001
It was a pleasant and warm day, perfect for a parade. All along the streets of downtown Beijing people watched and cheered as the 7th Chinese International Regiment marched with pride and precision. Men marched in perfect unison with uniforms pressed and rifles polished to a sheen, new Chinese battle-master tanks rolled behind them and trailing in the rear was two GDI mammoth tanks, the diving eagle and red star on full display.
General Mark Sheppard, supreme commander of the Global Defense Initiative, was watching it all on the large screen erected outside the GDI base. It was recently built as part of the country's ever growing support for the Initiative. The base, along with the military parade were both meant to show China's support for the ongoing war against Tiberium, and Nod terrorists. It also served as a reminder to elements of their government that they were in charge.
Mark shuffled in his seat, a rather uncomfortable fold out chair, as he reflected on the issue.
China had been mostly absent from the Third World war, or Tiberium War as most called it. Mostly it had been due to opposition within the government, primarily from nationalist and isolationist groups. But there were also reports of Nod activity, which became evident when Tiberium started spreading out of the Gobi desert. China had tried to keep it under control but found their own nation was turning against them. However following Kane's death at the end of the war, the entire Brotherhood collapsed and the Chinese government was quick to reassert control.
There were still dissidents of course, and Nod hadn't just disappeared despite what everyone had hoped. Which was exactly why the United Nations was prepared to give even more power to GDI. Something Sheppard was strongly against. His position on the upcoming vote had earned him the title of hypocrite and even traitor, given he was the head of GDI. But he felt that the world's focus should be on the eradication of the alien substance, not on giving the joint military coalition more autonomy. But it had only been three years after the war and people were still scared of Nod. The various generals and warlords had carved up Africa and the Middle east amongst themselves and GDI had been quick to intervene and hunt down the last remnants. Only it was proving to be a more daunting task then initially thought, something the other high ranking members of GDI were using to their advantage.
Sheppard knew that the other generals wanted to replace him with someone who agreed with their ideals. But he wouldn't give in so easily, this old dog still had a bite so to speak.
"General?" Sheppard was broken from his thoughts as Colonel James Solomon tapped him on the shoulder. He was sitting to Sheppard's left and he quickly indicated the man to his right. He looked over and realized that General Tsing Shi Tao had been speaking to him.
"Forgive me General I was thinking about something. What were you saying?"
"I was saying that it is an impressive display no? This is truly an age of unprecedented cooperation between our nations. No one could hope to stand against such might." Tao spoke with an arrogance that Sheppard despised but had to force himself to smile and nod. This was the raw ambition that had him worried for GDI's future.
"Very impressive General." He then turned back to Solomon who gave him a sympathetic look. Sheppard liked the man, he was smart and quick with his wit. Sheppard was quick to pick him up as a protégé after the war had ended, Solomon had been on the front with the now famous Commander Mark Lancaster. He had high hopes for Solomon, since Lancaster had refused promotion he now had to rely on the Colonel to help him keep things in check.
"The ceremony will be beginning soon. Today will mark a new era for China, perhaps even the world." Tao said with a smug smile, this time however Sheppard actually agreed with him.
He still had his focus on the large T.V as it continued its display of the parade. Moving down the streets towards them at the base. Crowds were cheering them as they marched and others were busy checking out street vendors and shops. It was clustered and he didn't envy having to navigate the dense crowds. Then suddenly people starting running in different directions, or tried to as they were packed almost shoulder to shoulder. The soldiers marched unawares and most of the crowded people didn't even seem to notice. Until Sheppard could clearly see the flashes of automatic weapons. He bolted to his feet and the other Chinese and GDI dignitaries began to talk in panicked tones.
"What is going on?" Tao asked, his smug confidence shattered. Sheppard just watched as people were now being cut down by gunmen who were dispersed throughout the crowds. The soldiers finally took notice and tried to fire back but found it difficult with all the scared civilians in the way.
Without warning cars came barreling out from alleyways and drove straight into the tanks that were stuck on the road. They exploded in brilliant flashes and tore massive holes into the Battle-master tanks, killing the crews instantly.
It was pure chaos as the parading soldiers weren't prepared and were being attacked from every angle. Sheppard began barking out orders only for people to give him a confused look.
"What the hell are you people doing? We have to save those civilians!" Tao stood up and began repeating what Sheppard said in mandarin, finally getting the assembled officers into motion. Solomon was already talking into his wrist mounted computer, know as a Tacpad, calling for help from the GDI aircraft carrier they had traveled here on. Sheppard turned to view the screen and saw that the soldiers were focused on helping civilians flee from the crazed gunmen and suicide bombers. Frantic shouting could be heard over the radio as soldiers called for support. Then a chill ran down his spine as chanting could be heard over the noise, Peace Through Power. He didn't want to believe it, but there was no denying it. The Brotherhood of Nod was here and they were slaughtering soldiers and civilians indiscriminately. The disoriented troops seemed to be getting their footing and put up a fight when a container truck came racing up from behind the parade.
Then the world went white, all sound disappeared and for a moment he thought he had died. The only thing that went through is mind was regret at not finishing the book he had been writing for years, which struck him as a odd thing to think about before dying. His sense of hearing came back in a painful wave of screaming people and blaring alarms. When his vision returned moments later his mouth fell agape at what he saw.
A massive mushroom cloud now rose from where downtown Beijing once stood. The blast wave had shattered glass windows and even caused vehicles and people to flip over. It was a scene from his worst nightmares, as once prominent skyscrapers now had crumbled and flames were spreading out from the epicenter of the blast.
All around him people were struggling to their feet and he spotted Solomon running towards him. He was saying something but Sheppard couldn't make it out, even though he was barely a few feet away.
"…helter now!"
"What?" Sheppard managed to croak out.
"We need to get to shelter now!" He repeated louder. Sheppard nodded his head and drunkenly followed Tao and the others inside the base's command center.
As they made their way to the underground emergency bunker all Sheppard could do was think to himself, Nod had returned and they had just detonated a nuclear bomb.
And even worse, was that now no one would argue against GDI being given all the power in the world. After today even Sheppard could no longer argue against it, the war against Nod was far from over.
Chapter 1
Baghdad, Iraq
July 17th 06:45
2011
For three days the Global Defense Initiative had been laying siege to the city of Baghdad. For three miserable days the GDI forces had to endure blistering heat and a relentless enemy.
The Brotherhood of Nod had controlled this city since before the Tiberium war, and it had now apparently passed hands through several Nod warlords. But now as part of the new 'Operation Final Justice' GDI has been tasked with liberating it.
New may be the wrong word for Final Justice, as the operation had been introduced almost ten years prior, just after the Beijing Bombing. The nuclear attack had killed close to a hundred thousand people. The next day China descended into chaos as Nod attacked several cities, including a full on invasion of Hong Kong. That had effectively started the operation, GDI had remobilized itself for war. But at the end of the day, it was all just more pointless killing.
But for ten years Mark Lancaster, Battle-commander of GDI, had continued the war against Nod. And now here he was, on the third day of the siege and irritable as all hell, due to a lack of coffee. He was busy overlooking satellite images of their target, a large Nod base located in the mountains behind the city, when a young man walked into the control room. He had olive skin and black hair trimmed in the military style, and he wore his Lieutenant's bars with great pride. And hidden under his dark green eyes was a fierce intelligence.
"Good morning sir. Sleep well?" Sergio Andreas asked in a cheerful tone. He was in his mid twenties and was clearly an ambitious man. Mark liked him a great deal, but he was not without his faults, Sergio had bouts of anger born from having watched his home country of Italy be consumed by Tiberium. Mark sympathized with him, Italy had all but collapsed since the alien crystal had arrived in 1995. The government had almost been dissolved and a flood of refugees had spread throughout Europe and America. And there were more countries across the globe following in Italy's footsteps.
"That depends. Did you get the coffee maker fixed?" Sergio handed him a styrofoam cup filled with the black liquid and Mark grabbed it greedily. He took a sip and let out a satisfied sigh.
"God that's horrible coffee, but I don't care." Sergio laughed and took a sip of his own drink.
"Are we ready to make the final push sir? Most of the city is secured, if we push in now-"
"Easy son. Nod still controls the outer limits of Baghdad. We need to take this slow."
"Yes sir. Sorry."
"Don't be, I want this to be over as much as you do." Sergio just nodded and Mark smiled, reminded of his own fiery youth. When the war had started Mark had just entered his thirties. Now he was in his mid forties and felt much older then that. As the two continued to talk Mark's Tacpad began to vibrate, indicating an incoming call.
The devices were handy little computers that greatly helped battle-commanders with coordinating GDI's forces. And with technological advancements made from Tiberium they were much more commonplace then they were during the first war. Mark pressed a few buttons and a voice crackled through the inbuilt speakers.
"Command come in. This is Oracle 1-1, be advised we have large Nod armour unit inbound. Repeat Nod armour unit inbound to base, over."
"Copy that Oracle. Return to base, Command out."
"Wilco command, Oracle 1-1 out." Mark looked up to Sergio, an eager look on his face, he smiled as he began issuing orders.
"Lieutenant call back our patrols and move our tanks to intercept the enemy. Put the base on high alert."
"Yes sir!" Sergio moved off to carry out the order and Mark activated his Tacpad again. He made a call to the primary GDI command base in the region.
"Home Nest come in? This is Sandcastle how copy?" Mark said as he watched the other officers run around the control room, preparing for the upcoming fight.
"We read you Sandcastle send traffic."
"Requesting close air support. Locals are getting restless."
"Copy that, sending you a flight of Orcas. Home Nest out." Mark smiled as he ended the call and turned to survey the base come to life.
It was a small outpost built after the first day. After GDI had destroyed the city's outer defenses and took control over the Tiberium refinery. He had built his base up around it to prevent Nod from retaking it and regaining their primary source of supplies. It was from here he had coordinated the two day long urban fighting for the city. And now the Brotherhood was finally making its move.
Outside new GDI Crusader tanks moved away from the base and out into the sandy field to meet the enemy head on. While infantry scrambled to get ready and load into waiting Humvees.
"Getting visual feed now sir." Sergio called from the other side of the control room. A large screen lit up and he could see the line of golden crusader tanks move into position. Visually they weren't too different from the Abrams tanks GDI used during the war. The key difference however was that these new tanks were made with Tiberium composite materials and had the latest in military hardware.
And they would be more then enough for the Nod scorpion tanks. Lightly armoured vehicles that resembled world war one tanks more so then modern machinery. However they could be quite deadly in large numbers, as they were now as they amassed outside the base.
The GDI crusaders formed a line atop a small hill and readied themselves, tank commanders reported in their status and general chatter filled the control room. The Nod scorpions also formed a line opposite the ridge, and the two forces seemed to stare each other down, as if it was some old western showdown.
The air was tense as Mark waited for someone to make the first shot. He nearly jolted when a Nod scorpion opened fire and the shell exploded mere inches away from one of his crusaders. In the blink of an eye all ten crusaders and the other eleven scorpions fired seemingly at once. A few crusaders took direct hits but were able to shrug them off, the scorpions on the other hand were reduced to burning scrap. The entire exchange was over in less then five minutes, twelve Nod tanks were destroyed and all of his survived. Two were forced to limp back home but the others pressed forward.
"Command this is Godfrey 1-4. We are moving forward now." One of the tank commanders reported.
"Sir! Oracle reports another tank column!" Sergio shouted.
"Negative Godfrey! Hold position." As the crusaders ground to a halt, another fifteen scorpions came rolling across the field. They would easily overwhelm his tanks had eight Orca fighters not flown over the base and unleashed a hailstorm of missiles. The second line of tanks was destroyed by the advanced VTOL craft, also significantly improved since the war.
With their missiles spent the Orcas flew off and returned to the GDI base. The field between his FOB and the city was now strewn with twisted and burnt metal. And with no other enemy forces moving towards them, he gave the order.
"All units, this is Sandcastle Actual. Engage, I repeat engage. Primary target is the Nod base in the hills. Clear out all hostiles." A series of affirmatives came in from his various field units including the tank unit designated Godfrey. Sergio watched with rapt attention and Mark steeled himself for another violent day of fighting.
… … …
The Humvee bounded over the rough terrain as it raced towards the city. Some God awful rap song was blaring over the radio and a young private named Chris Reed tapped his foot in rhythm with the 'song' while he looked out the window. He had close cropped brown hair and brown eyes.
Sergeant Robert McCoy, now in his mid thirties with green eyes, dirty blonde hair and a mustache to match. He gripped his GDI standard issued XM8 assault rifle tighter in annoyance and was just about ready to shoot the damned radio. Around him in the cramped vehicle were the other members of his squad. Private Samuel King manned the Humvee's heavy machine gun, he had black hair and hazel eyes. Corporal Pablo Rodriguez, dark skinned and bald, with deep green eyes drove the Humvee.
The final squad mate was another private named Tony West, barely in his twenties with reddish brown hair and dark brown eyes, he looked nervous as he fiddled with his own XM8. Everyone was quiet as they readied to throw themselves into battle, but McCoy couldn't handle to music for one more second.
"Reed turn that shit off before I make you walk the rest of the way." He growled.
"Oh come on Sarge it ain't that bad." Reed complained.
"I agree with the Sergeant. It's shit music man." Rodriguez added from the front as he turned off the radio. Reed crossed his arms and looked personally offended.
"First off, of course you agree with him because you're an ass kisser. Second, ain't my fault the Sarge doesn't know good music."
"You wouldn't know good music if it bit you in the ass." Rodriguez laughed and Reed flipped him the middle finger, but the jovial mood was replaced with cold seriousness as a voice crackled over the general radio.
"All call signs this is Godfrey 1-4. We are entering the city now. Get yourselves ready because Nod won't be happy we're here."
"You heard the man, get ready people! King keep your eyes open." Everyone readied their rifles and checked over their gear.
"You still nervous rookie? Come on it's not like it's your first day." Reed said to West, the young man just looked down at his weapon and McCoy pointed an angry finger at Reed.
"Lay off the kid or you can get out and push."
"Just saying. He's been fighting for three days now. Should be used to it."
"Should I be used to it by now Sergeant?" West asked.
"No one ever gets used to war. Even Reed is scared shitless. You just have to learn how to control it, because you cant let fear stop you when a brother in arms needs your help." McCoy replied sagely.
"Yes Sergeant."
"Hell yeah! Fuck you Noddies!" King suddenly shouted. McCoy looked out the window and saw dead Nod soldiers and burning scorpion tanks as the Humvee passed into the city. Rodriguez pushed a car out of his way and drove onto a main road, up ahead more Humvees and the crusader tanks continued moving deeper into the city.
Ahead of them was a large open area that seemed to be used for markets and shops, however it was now deserted. Further along was two large apartment buildings. The Humvee slowed down to a crawl as they were now firmly in Nod territory.
"This is Godfrey 1-4, moving towards objective Bravo." The tank commander stated. Just as he did McCoy spotted his tank roll ahead of the others and moved towards the apartments. Their secondary objective was a large mosque that served as Nod's last stronghold within the city proper. It was just passed the apartment buildings, Godfrey 1-4 passed between them only to disappear in a flash of light. Before anyone could react missiles and bullets began pouring out from multiple floors of both buildings.
"Tangos! In the buildings!"
McCoy witnessed a turret gunner on one the crusader tanks loose his head, without thinking he grabbed King's legs and started pulling him down into the cabin.
"Snipers! King get down! Pull him down!" Reed and West both helped pull him down as bullets pinged off the roof of the Humvee. King was fine if a bit shaken and gave his thanks but McCoy was already barking out more orders.
"Rodriguez find us some cover!" He nodded and pulled them into the market, driving over wooden stalls. The radio burst to life and Major Wilson began shouting orders.
"Pull those tanks back. Get suppressive fire on those buildings now! All units converge on me. Sandcastle, requesting support, we are pinned down, over?"
"Copy that Major, support is on the way." Commander Lancaster replied. The Humvee nearly tipped over as a rocket exploded mere feet away. Rodriguez struggled to keep it under control but lost and the vehicle swerved into a concrete wall.
"Everyone out, out, out!" They all complied and filed out of the Humvee as more bullets impacted into it. McCoy and Reed fired off a few bursts at the buildings, but their bullets would do little if anything at all. They took cover behind the wall as farther down the rest of the GDI forces traded fire with the enemy.
"What's the game plan Sarge?" King asked as he looked down his weapons holographic sites.
"We need to hook up with the Major, only there's a lot of open ground." McCoy looked across the open marketplace and spotted a group of GDI troops clustered around what looked like a restaurant of some kind. Assuming the Major was there he tried to plan the best route.
"Can't we just take the Hummer?" Reed asked.
"My baby is fried. She isn't going anywhere." Rodriguez solemnly replied. McCoy continued scanning for a route when he finally found adequate cover. A cluster of wooden stands were arrayed in a circle around a stone well, it would cover them from sniper fire and put them in close proximity to the rest of the force.
"Alright everyone, get ready to run. Target is a cluster of stands, near the well."
"I see it." West stated.
"King and Reed give covering fire. Rodriguez and West with me. Go now!" McCoy and the others ran out from behind the wall and booked it across the cobblestone market, Reed and King opened fire and drew most of the sniper's attention, but a few bullets tore chunks into the stone around them.
McCoy took cover behind a larger stand with a purple tarp, and turned to fire on the left side apartment building. The enemy was too far away to get an accurate shot but his bullets impacted around the window where he thought the sniper was. West and Rodriguez took cover by another stand and also took aim. He then gave the signal for Reed and King to make their run. After Reed fired off one last burst they both ran as fast as they could, and made it to cover just as a hailstorm of machine gun fire ripped up the cobblestone.
"Get ready to run again. Same formation." McCoy ordered, everyone reloaded their weapons and readied themselves. Reed and King once again opened fire and McCoy, West, and Rodriguez made a run for the GDI forces entrenched in front of them. He started to shout at them so they would see them and not assume they were Nod troops. One soldier did see them and almost fired before stopping himself, and pointed them out to someone.
They all vaulted over a low concrete wall and took cover with the other troops, who gave them quizzical looks. He just ignored them and signaled for the others to join them, and without being shot at any further, joined them. When they did Major Wilson came out from the restaurant and walked over to them.
"Thank you for joining us Sergeant. Did you enjoy your afternoon picnic?" The Major asked sarcastically.
"Yes sir it was lovely. Didn't like being shot at though." McCoy replied seriously and the Major barked out a laugh.
"Glad you made it son." He turned and walked back into the building and McCoy ordered his squad to take up positions along the walls.
GDI forces were still trading fire with the Nod defenders, the tanks were punching holes into the two buildings. Yet they couldn't move forward and sniper and rocket fire still rained down on them.
It seemed as though they would be stuck in a stalemate until two golden black-hawk helicopters flew overhead. One hovering above each apartment building. McCoy could barely make out figures of GDI troops rappelling down onto the roofs. The helicopters then flew back to the base and the Major ordered them to continue shooting at the lower levels.
After a few minutes he noticed the amount of fire from the buildings slowly begin to lessen. Before all together stopping, he was close enough to the Major to hear his Tacpad activate.
"Major, both buildings secured. Your are good to move forward."
"Copy that. Thanks for the assist. Let's move it people!" The GDI forces picked themselves up and began making their way forward. Of the eight crusader tanks, only six were left as another had been hit too many times by RPG fire. They moved slowly, cautious of any more attacks and eventually passed underneath the apartments. The GDI troops that had repelled down were already on the street level and had swept for more mines. Its seemed the tank had triggered all of them, thus why there was hardly any remains of Godfrey 1-4.
"Objective Bravo is just up ahead. Area is well fortified, advise we wait for reinforcements." A Sergeant stated as Wilson approached.
"No time, we push onward." The tanks moved first again with the infantry in the middle and a handful of Humvees bringing up the rear. Ahead was a large mosque and surrounding it were several Nod tanks and defensive dugouts that had been designated as stinger sites.
The Nod forces spotted them but before they could react two Orcas appeared overhead and unleashed their payload of rockets. The tanks burst open and the stinger sites were set ablaze as the Orcas brought devastation. Chin mounted machine guns ripped apart infantry that attempted to fire back.
One of the Orcas was suddenly ripped apart by anti-air fire. A flat bed truck with a large AA gun bolted to it came into view. The second Orca pulled off as the Nod quad-cannon continued to fire, a crusader tank rotated its turret towards the vehicle but stopped when it was struck by a scorpion.
Militiamen shot at them with a wide array of weapons but primarily used AK-47s, Nod's arsenal had always been an odd mix between high tech and low grade weapons. McCoy and his squad fired on the enemy as they came into view. Reed activated his underslung grenade launcher and fired at the quad-cannon. The grenade exploded against the front grill, the truck rolled to a stop before a second explosion from the engine engulfed the driver's cabin in flame.
The crusaders finished off what was left of the scorpion tanks and handful of technicals. The mosque's courtyard was now ruined as the GDI forces pushed past towards the outskirts of the city. A Chinook landed behind them and deployed troops that stormed into the building to secure it. McCoy and his men followed behind Major Wilson as they entered a residential area, behind of which was the hills where the Nod base was located.
The remaining tanks of Godfrey pushed ahead before more rocket fire came out from some of the low rise houses. The tanks made short work by blowing the houses apart with high explosive shells. McCoy and his men fired on another small house, he fired a burst into a living room window. By the time they had cleared the buildings another group of crusader tanks rolled up behind them.
Major Wilson ordered them to push into the hills, past the city he spotted a clear path that had been carved into the hills.
McCoy took the time to take a drink from his canteen when Reed walked up to him.
"This has been some intense shit. Are we almost done Sarge? I'm getting tired."
"Reed why are you complaining to me?" He asked as he wiped his mouth and returned the canteen to his belt.
"Who else would I complain to?"
"Anyone but me." He walked ahead of Reed and found himself beside West who was looking around the hills paranoid of attack.
"You alright kid?"
"Of course Sergeant." West tried to keep a stoic face but he could see right through it.
"Are you sure? I want to know if there's something bothering you." Tony West wasn't the first soldier McCoy had taken a fatherly tone with. After dealing with his own demons for the better part of ten years he felt a natural need to help others who suffered the same way. West sighed and the façade broke down
"I don't know Sergeant. I wanted to sign up like all my brothers did, to fight like them. But I'm not so sure I'm cut out for this, you know? I'm scared sir and I'm afraid that I might be a coward." McCoy could see a lot of emotions at war within the young man, he placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You aren't a coward, you are a fine soldier. It's only human to be scared, I still get scared. Your brothers would be proud of you Tony."
"Thanks Sarge." He seemed to be genuinely cheered up and McCoy smiled at him before moving ahead again. He was moving towards the Major when he called for the whole unit to stop. As he came up to the man he saw why.
On the ridge ahead of them was a line of tanks and stinger sites, and an Obelisk of light. A chill ran down his spine as vivid flash backs raced through his mind.
"Command we have a problem. Obelisk of light is blocking the path."
"Did you say an Obelisk?" Lancaster asked over the radio.
"Affirmative sir. Request immediate air support, heavy ordnance."
"You got it Major. Raptors inbound." McCoy gave a low whistle upon hearing that. Raptors were new close air support craft, meant to replace A-10 warthogs and could even be used for air superiority. Like the crusaders they were equipped with all the latest technology GDI could come up with.
A low rumble could be heard and McCoy kept his gaze fixed on the ridge. A few moments later a squadron of GDI raptors flew overhead and unleashed a flurry of missiles. The hills shook from the large explosions and a large cloud of dust and smoke rose into the air. After it settled there was nothing left of the Nod defenses and the raptors peeled off. Wilson ordered them to move forward again, they passed the still burning craters left by the air strike and bits of tanks and people were strewn about.
They crested the ridge and came into view of the Nod base. After the war the Brotherhood had become more desperate for resources, instead of their Hands of Nod or war factories there were shambled together barracks and flimsy service bays for vehicles. A large collection of prefabricated buildings served as a command center, and a van with a series of radars and antenna served as their communications. It was a far cry from the super power they were during the war, but they had proven they were still a considerable threat.
The tanks opened fire and tore into the buildings, Humvees cut down infantry hiding in stinger sites and fox holes. McCoy and the other GDI infantry pushed into the base, several men fell from the wall of bullets the enemy was throwing at them. McCoy and his squad took cover behind a concrete block that would have been used for an automated turret. He fired on any target he could see as GDI steamrolled their way into the base.
King and West were firing on a group of Nod troops attempting to come out from the barracks while Reed and Rodriguez fired on a technical. Major Wilson was leading the main push to the command center, a crusader fired a shell that all but erased the radar van.
McCoy broke from cover and he and his men pushed up past the barracks, that was now aflame from multiple tank blasts. Another squad of Nod troops came out from a large open building covered by a camouflaged tarp. McCoy's squad fired in unison and ripped the Nod troops apart.
He turned his attention and noticed the Major was storming the command building. He decided to clear the camouflaged building and moved his men forward. From the air it would have been invisible but from ground level he could see it served sort of as a warehouse. Boxes of various sizes filled the entire space.
McCoy opened one to find AK-47s and AK-74s inside. Reed opened a similar box to find American M16s inside, the others found entire crates of ammunition, grenades and rockets for RPGs. It was one of the largest stockpiles of weapons he had ever seen, and there were hundreds of crates as he slowly moved through.
"Sir over here!" Rodriguez shouted. The four of them moved closer to see what the man had found. It was a row of gun racks, all lined with newer SCAR-H assault rifles. McCoy clenched his fists in anger, GDI still wasn't sure how Nod was able to get its hands on so much American hardware.
"Good work squad, take five." West, Reed, and King all took a seat on some of the boxes while Rodriguez continued searching through the warehouse. McCoy pulled out a radio to call the Major.
"Sir we've secured a massive stockpile of Nod weapons. One of the largest I've ever seen sir."
"Copy that Sergeant. I'll pass that off to command. We've taken the command building so I'll be over in a few minute, you and your men did good today."
"Thank you sir." McCoy placed his radio back on his belt then stood with his men, Rodriguez returned from his exploration.
"Well boys sounds like we've taken Baghdad. Good work and Reed is buying the first round."
"Hey what the fuck? Why me?"
"Because I said so." They all laughed except Reed who just crossed his arms and huffed. McCoy was glad they were all joking and laughing, that way they didn't see his hands shaking uncontrollably.
… … …
Mark smiled to himself as reports came in about Nod forces surrendering throughout the city. After three days he had finally taken it, and he heaved a sigh of relief. Lt. Andreas came up to him, his own smile stretched across his face.
"We did it sir. At this rate they will have to call you Mark the Great." Sergio laughed at his own joke but Mark just smiled.
"Well let's see what the General says." They both walked over to a computer terminal used for long range communications. After a moment the face of GDI supreme commander Malcolm Granger appeared. Mark was still taken aback sometimes not seeing Sheppard on the other end, even though the man had retired a few months after the Beijing bombing.
"Commander Lancaster, you have good news I presume?" The General asked in a cheerful tone.
"Yes sir I do. Baghdad is secure, as is a large stockpile of weapons that Nod wont be getting."
"Damn fine work as always. Wish you hadn't turned down that promotion. Should be you where I'm sitting now."
"With all due respect sir, I'm fine where I am."
"I suppose you are. Alright I'll pass the news around the grapevine. Hang in there until I get you some new orders. InOps is working on something, we'll wait for the spooks."
"Yes sir." Granger ended the call and Mark turned to Sergio.
"Let's go see the Major." They made their way outside to a waiting Humvee and moved towards the city as the sun began its descent towards night.